In this episode of the Computomics podcast, Pernille Ollendorff Hede, CEO and co-founder of Healthycrop, discusses the company's innovative approach to fungal-resistant crops. Healthycrop boosts the production of Nepenthesin, a naturally occurring enzyme in plants, to degrade fungal enzymes, preventing fungal growth without the need for fungicides. Using cis-genesis and gene editing techniques, Healthycrop enhances the plant's natural defense. While these techniques are classified as genetically modified (GM) in Europe, they are considered non-GM in the U.S. Pernille shares the company's mission to revolutionize agriculture by offering sustainable solutions and hopes for regulatory changes in Europe to facilitate broader adoption.

More:

• Healthycrop - Homepage
• Pernille Ollendorff Hede on LinkedIn

In this episode of the Computomics podcast, bioinformatics analyst Michelle Hagen describes how her work bridges biology and data science. As a data analyst in bioinformatics and plant breeding, Michelle transforms raw genetic and environmental data into insights that guide breeding decisions. She particularly enjoys the teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity involved in her job.

Michelle works on Computomics’ Climate-Smart Breeding technology xSeedScore and the Metagenomics Analysis Platform MORPHEUS. Her main tasks involve performing data quality control, running bioinformatics pipelines, and creating interactive dashboards for customers. Her work supports the development of climate-resilient, high-yield crops, and it helps breeders make data-driven breeding faster and more precise.

Glendon Ascough, Research Director at Starke Ayres, discusses the evolution of the company from a historic seed merchant to Africa’s largest independent vegetable breeding company. He shares his personal journey into plant science, driven by a fascination with genetics, and highlights the company’s focus on breeding disease-resistant vegetable varieties tailored to local and international markets. He talks about the collaboration with Computomics, using machine learning to predict sweet corn hybrid performance. Glendon emphasizes the importance of high-quality, diverse phenotypic data and the shift in breeder mindset required for data-driven approaches.

This episode features Dr. Michael Kotutwa Johnson, a Hopi dryland farmer from Arizona’s Colorado Plateau. He shares how his community has grown crops for 3,000 years on just 6-10 inches of annual rain without irrigation. Using deep planting, wide spacing, clumped seeds, and reading native vegetation, Indigenous farming conserves moisture and maintains biodiversity. It yields nutrient-rich crops without chemicals, protects soil, and integrates spiritual traditions. Climate change impacts - shorter summers, longer winters, less precipitation - are addressed by adapting planting practices and trusting in seed adaptation through continual cultivation. Michael advocates for growing seeds annually to keep them climate-resilient, and for revitalizing Indigenous food systems to combat health crises like diabetes. Beyond yields, the Hopi system offers values of stewardship, sharing, and hope, which he believes can inspire global agricultural approaches.

More:

• "Dr. Hopi Farmer" on Instagram
• Michael K. Johnson on LinkedIn
• Indigenous Resilience Center
• Indigenous Landscapes: An example from Hopi (Lecture)

In this Computomics podcast episode, Computomics Chief Commercial Officer Juan Manuel Montes shares insights into his passion for learning and his recent experience at the International Seed Federation conference in Istanbul. He discusses industry challenges like climate change and consumer demands, highlighting how Computomics supports plant breeders with technologies like xSeedScore and Pantograph. These tools accelerate variety development and genomic analysis. Juan emphasizes the company’s customer-centric approach, tailoring solutions for clients of all sizes through strategic collaboration. The episode wraps up the current season, with new content returning in September.

Our guest in this episode is Keren Moshelion, CEO and co-founder of Plant-Ditech. Karen shares insights into the company’s advanced plant phenotyping platform. The system simulates stress conditions like drought, salinity, and nutrient variability, measuring plant responses with high-resolution sensors up to 500 times a day. These real-time measurements help researchers rapidly assess plant productivity, growth, and water use efficiency. It enables them to customize treatments per plant and analyze physiological traits linked to yield. Designed for greenhouses and growth chambers, the platform significantly accelerates agtech R[&]D, with customers reporting time savings of up to two years. The company's clients use the system for both academic and commercial research.

Our guest in this episode is Kinneret Shefer, co-founder and CEO of AgTech startup GeneNeer. Kinneret shares the founding of GeneNeer, driven by her shift from pure RNA research to market-driven innovation. GeneNeer aims to revolutionize crop breeding by drastically shortening trait development time using fast, tissue culture-based gene editing platforms. Kinneret compares her vision for GeneNeer to Pfizer's rapid vaccine development during COVID-19, enabling fast responses to agricultural challenges like drought or new pests. GeneNeer's "super line" platform allows rapid, iterative trait development with backup options, while their AI-supported platform enables precise, tissue- and time-specific gene editing without introducing foreign DNA. GeneNeer's business model includes custom collaborations and independent product development.

More:

• GeneNeer
• Kinneret Shefer on LinkedIn

In this episode of our podcast Amrit Nanda, Executive Manager of Plants for the Future ETP, discusses the importance of plant breeding, public-private collaboration, and science-based policymaking in the EU. She highlights the platform’s mission to connect academia, industry, and policymakers, and to improve science communication through initiatives like “Plantastic Discoveries.” A recent study on 20 years of EU research funding revealed limited growth for plant breeding despite strong overall program growth. Amrit stresses the need for long-term funding models, more support for Eastern Europe, and the potential of gene editing and AI.